Harvard University, Yale University and Stanford University, with combined endowments about equal to the gross domestic product of Lithuania, are among 15 of the wealthiest colleges and universities that borrowed $7.2 billion because their highbrow investing left them suddenly strapped for cash.

Yale economist Robert Shiller praises finance and defends Goldman Sachs Group Inc., while George Soros urges Angela Merkel not to hurl Europe into “deflationary debt trap” in two of our favorite business books of late. Here’s a list of recommended titles.